Going into this the two favourites were overcoming injuries; Hollands a bicep tear and Poundstone a quad injury. This didn’t seem to stop Terry Hollands in the first event, the Giant Farmers Walk.

Hollands v Poundstone in the Giant Farmers Walk

Not only did Hollands leave Poundstone in his dust, but he won the event, taking maximum points and showing no signs of being anything but 100%. Poundstone on the other hand couldn’t even finish the course, stopping at just over 36 metres having torn his hands to shreds carrying those huge weights. It was a Mariusz Pudzianowski training camp member who came in second place, as Robert Szczepanski split the two favourites.

Giant Farmers Walk Results

I always fine it hard watching Hollands and Poundstone compete against each because I want to support Hollands being a fellow Brit and a phenomenal strongman competitor, but I’ve been a huge fan of Poundstone since his burst onto the scene a few years ago with such immediate success. The second event certainly questioned my loyalties as the Power Stairs once again pitted Hollands and Poundstone in a head to head battle.

Hollands v Poundstone in the Power Stairs

For the second event in a row Hollands bested Poundstone and won the event, and again Poundstone couldn’t finish, climbing just 9 of the 12 stairs. It was also the second event running that Szczepanski slit the pre-heat favourites to take second place. Richard Skog, the man that showed so much potential 2 years ago, could only managed 4 stairs t finish last.

Power Stairs Results

At this point I was glad that Hollands was doing so well but I was seriously worried that Poundstone would not make it to his 3rd World’s Strongest Man final, fearing that Szczepanski would instead take that second qualifying spot.

Standings after the Power Stairs

Fate played it’s cruel hand in the dead Lift as Szczepanski appeared to injure himself without managing one rep. It was yet another disappointing event Skog, as he too strangely didn’t manage one repetition.

Derek Poundstone in the Deadlift

It was during the Deadlift that Derek Poundtone finally won an event, though I wonder if Terry Hollands was just being strategic. Hollands was 5th to lift and with absolute ease he rolled out 5 reps, one more than the previous best of Alex Curletto. I’m sure he knew Poundstone would beat that I think he gave up the possible one point of winning knowing he would still be 3 points ahead and he could conserve much needed energy. While Poundstone did beat him with 6 lifts, he didn’t look as comfortable as Poundstone, not by a long way.

Deadlift Results

The unfortunate injury to Szczepanski coupled with a first victory, meant that Poundstone moved into second place and for the first time looked like he may qualify the final. Hollands was looking good in first place and was on the form of his life.

Standings after the Deadlift

The 4th event, The Africa Stone, is when the tide started to join as Terry Hollands struggled to even lift the huge Africa Stone.

Terry Hollands struggles with The Africa Stone

His bicep injury reared its ugly face as his best effort was a disappointing 36.3 metres. It was the underperfrming Richard Skog who won the event, making it 4 metres more than second place Derek 63.4 metres. After the event Poundstone said he was disappointed not to complete 75 metres, but his torn callouses from earlier affected him.

Africa Stone Results

The bad result for Hollands meant that Poundstone was able to erode away the lead and get to within one point of the massive Brit. Both were almost guaranteed a spot in the final, but pride would have them both wanting to top the group and win the heat.

Standings after the Africa Stone

Next was the Metal Block Press and a chance for a new world record as the 4th block was 150 KG, 5 KG more than the current world record held by Derek Poundstone.

Derek Poundstone attempts a world record

It was the world record holder himself who attempted the 4th block first, but after balancing it on his head for a few moments he let it drop, content, well settling at least, for 3 blocks in a super fast time. Last to go was Terry Hollands who had a bit of fun when he picked up the 4th block but didn’t make a serious attempt to press it – he just wanted to make Poundstone sweat, and he did!

Metal Block Press Results

Going into the last event Hollands and Poundstone were tied at the top, both now having enough points to get them through to the final of World’s Strongest Man 2010.

Standings after the Metal Block Press

Determined to prove me wrong it was Richard Skog who won the final event, the Loading Race, but it was the battle between Hollands and Poundstone that provided the most entertainment. Hollands started off the quicker but Poundstone caught up and overtook the bigger man. Instead of winning by a long margin, Poundstone waited for Hollands and attempted to put down the last barrel at the same time as, but ended up beating him, by just a fraction of a second.

Loading Race Results

While Hollands started off looking supreme, it was Derek Poundstone that ended up winning the group, as both go through to the final, with Richard Skog coming just missing out on 3rd. Skog did realise a bit of the potential that I saw 2 years ago and I still think he could be a force in the future.

Final Standings

I have to admit, that although both Poundstone and Hollands qualified for the final, neither looked in the type of form that will see them beating Brian Shaw on his current form, or the form Zydrunas Savickas brings to the table during every competition. I hope both can take it to the next level for the final, but only time will tell.